Christian Busch about the Future of Work – Today

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In anticipation of “How about the Future of Work – Today” conference, which is taking place in London on May 9th, we decided to get to know its speakers a little bit better.

Let us introduce Dr. Christian Busch, the first speaker of the event.

Christian teaches on purpose-driven leadership, innovation, emerging markets, and the future of business at New York University (NYU) and at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is a co-founder of Leaders on Purpose and the Sandbox Network, and served as Deputy Director at the LSE’s Innovation and Co-Creation Lab.
Christian’s upcoming book on ‘Cultivating serendipity’, which will be published in June of 2020, has been a finalist for the Financial Times/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize.

We have interviewed Christian to get to know his perspectives on the Future of Work.

Why did you decide to take part in “How about the Future of Work” conference? Why do you think is it important to talk about it?

The world is changing fast – most assumptions that we might have taken for granted a few years ago have changed. It’s a great opportunity to share ideas on how to get fit for the future.

What can we expect from your expertise? What kind of questions/topics are you going to raise on the 9th of May?

I’ll talk about an area that I’m particularly excited about: How can we cultivate serendipity* for ourselves and for others so to be able to navigate uncertainty? I believe that this will be the single most important life skill in life and work over the next decade. The last 10 years of my research as well as my community- and company- building efforts point towards the finding that the most successful, joyful, and delightful individuals – and their companies – have developed approaches that enable them to make the best out of whatever happens. Paradoxically, they (intuitively) cultivate serendipity. In my talk, I will share approaches and stories that can help us get inspired and apply this in our own lives and workplaces.

* Unexpected encounters/insights that lead to positive outcomes.

What is the future of work for you?

When I look at the world, I am excited – because (almost) everything is socially constructed. It’s just made up. Every organizational structure, every process, every approach was put into place by someone, and is malleable. I don’t know how the world will look in 10 years, not even in 5 years. There are just too many moving pieces out there, and exponential change means everyone who claims they know how the world will look like even in a year is doing that based on assumptions that will probably have to be revised soon. But what I do know is that if we equip ourselves with the capability (organizations) and muscle (individuals) to be able to make the best out of the unexpected and to cope with this uncertainty, we will be among those that will see the future of work as an opportunity rather than a threat.

What kind of questions do you have for the audience? 

I’d be delighted to learn how they navigate the unexpected. How much of their life in organizations and beyond has been defined by the unexpected? What have they learned on how to navigate it? What is their favourite serendipity story, and what we can learn from it?

Thank you, Christian! Looking forward to meeting you on the 9th of May!

Follow Christian on Twitter: @ChrisLSE and get your ticket for “How about the Future of Work Today” conference to meet Christian in person!